Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

Well, not exactly yet but we are quickly on our way.

In Lowell, Massachusetts, about 25 minutes ago, the council has approved to move our argument (that's what I'm calling it) to the State House in Boston, Massachusetts to allow 17 year old's to vote in municipal elections. (City and state wide)

I totally spaced out half the time because they decided to discuss the icy roads on Sunday for about an hour. So I lack juicy detail etc...

Article 1

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P.s. I lack technical terminology within this post. Thoughts on this being approved and/or starting a movement for other cities and states?

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

The biggest issue I have with this country (US) is that we can't seem to decide when someone is an "adult". Where I live you have to be 19 to buy cigarettes, 18 to vote, 17 to drive, 21 to buy alcohol, 18 to enlist in the army. Why is it all over the place? It drives me crazy. Basically you are asking people to vote on very serious issues concerning the welfare of the rest of the country, but you don't trust them enough to make decisions for themselves like buying cigarettes? You can be a war veteran at 18 but not be able to walk into a bar and buy yourself a drink? What?

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

The reason things are like this Rubin is because the government is trying to focus on the different kinds of people there are. Not all people are going to enlist in the military, but quite a few more people will be drinking. I suppose they're trying to make it to fit a person's choice to do ONE of those things at a time, and not what they will be trying all at once.

I dunno if I explained that as well as I tried, but I hope you understand how I see it.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

Oni, is that for national elections, or just state and municipal elections that the age limit is being reduced?

And I don't want to start a whole new argument here, but I agree with Rubin that they should focus on just one or two ages for those kinds of things. Where I live, the milestones are 18 and 21, nothing else in between.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

on SOME level you could try to justify the disparity between different age of majorities in our country by citing its utility, but i think what's being driven at here is more a matter of principle - that it's somewhat sleazy to let your country's men die and fight for its sake but prohibit them from making basic life decisions like drinking.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

It's bad the way it is, yes. But I don't think the way we want it to be is going to be anytime soon, so I was just trying my best to understand why they had it the way they do.

Doesn't the brain become fully developed at 21 though? I thought that was the reason behind making that the drinking age?

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

I really dont think they should do that because im 17 and I could choose one guy who (not saying any names)looks promising offering change but then doesn't deliver when someone older and wiser knows that person is a fraud and doesn't vote for that person and loses because young people all think basically alike and like the guy offering change. We dont exactly know what he is talking about but he makes it sound good.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

You have a point there raccoonman, but not ALL 17 year olds are like that. Most are very smart individuals who will take into consideration what the candidates have said.

or maybe they'll let their 17 year old "cool" attitudes take over and be like, "nah man i dun care"

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

;]

This is where the problem resides. Just because someone might be older does not mean they are more sophisticated. You choose who you want because you 'think' they will be better than the other guy. If we can get political attention more into high schools, then we can definitely make some better choices.

Also, if you can drive, enlist into the army and have a diploma by 17, then you should be able to vote at least in the municipal elections. My girlfriend was a full-time teacher at the age of 17. Some people know what they're doing.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

I think this is a nice way to encourage younger people to vote, but I don't know many 17-year-olds that know enough about politics to be voting. Hell, most people my age don't know enough about politics to rationally decide what party they are in.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

The alternative was Sarah Palin, come on man cut me some slack

I'll agree that there is a majority of 17 years old like that but its so small compared to the much larger amount of 17 year olds who really cant think for themselves and go with what everyone else does then tells everyone oh no I didnt vote for him/her.
Thankfully im one of the small majority that thinks political stuff out before resulting to "ine mine mine mo"

Ya but alot of older people dont even care to vote because it takes time out of their day where younger peps wanna vote because we've made voting the "IN" thing now a days.

I wouldn't like that outcome anyway it happened...I mean the candidates were just a bunch of whiners in my opinion.
We had a mysterious noble peace prize winner thats still a mystery to me how he won and we a cry baby POW guy.
And there vice presidents are an extremist and a no body.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

well.....damn

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

In Texas: 18 to buy cigs and smoke, vote, and play the lotto. 16 to drive by yourself. 21 to drink and buy alcohol. 18 to enlist in the military.

Triple post?

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

I think at a certain age being anywhere being around 20 give or take a few years people should be considered an adult and should be granted full adult rights.

Your argument against the Obama administration is basically you not liking Obama cause he was awarded a very good reward he had no say in (therefore you should really be looking at the people who award those things), and the fact nobody knew who Biden was? Should we just elect celebrities? How bout we just look at whether they'd do their job well?

Also please don't double (triple) post. There's the edit, and multiquote button.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

yeah buddy

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

Yo what's up, Canada rep in the thread.

16 to drive
18 to vote/lotto/scratch tickets/gamble
19 to drink/buy alcohol

Pretty much when you turn 19 in Ontario you're set for life.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

HORNY LIKE A LOBSTER!l

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

I was just stating some thing about him. Let me rephrase for you...We have a candidate who promised nothing but change but never really explained how he was going to do it.
And about voting for celebrities we should totally vote in Johnny Deep then no one in the world would hate America. I am of course joking im not saying we should vote for famous people just people who have been know for doing something that actually was good for the US.
Oh and sorry about the triple post I didn't see the multiquote.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

You get tried as an adult when your 18 (17 in some places) when you get arrested...So...?

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

?!?!?!

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

If I was 17 and actually into politics this would be awesome.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

How do 17 year olds not know about politics these days? Hell, I was FORCED to take a Government class back in high school. Every senior had to take it and pass it in order to graduate. At least we know what's what in politics now, but hey, there will always be that one idiot that didn't pay attention in class and copied someone else's work more than half the time.

All high school students should be forced to take a government class, IMO. Even if they decide not to vote until they're like 20 something, and have no experience other than that one gov class in high school, at least they'll be smart enough to inform themselves of what each candidate is promising instead of just voting based on party or peer pressure.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

The point is to get 17 year old's involved.

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

Laws Are Arbitrary Do What U Want

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

Maybe you should be required to score a 100 on a simple factual quiz. Name the three bodies, match the amendment # to its content, is Obama a muslim true/false is Sarah Palin a necromancer true/false etc.

btw Hayden your sig is ****ing amazing and I'm glad someone noticed how ridiculous it was

Re: Voting age being lowered to 17?!?!
 

what gets me even more than having veterans that cant buy drinks (altho that does bother me also) is that our government has decided that theyre old enough to go and fight for our freedoms, but when they comee home they suddenly arent old enough to walk into a store and buy a handgun to protect themselves and their familys with!? but over in afghanistan right now their given one and told to shoot people

and technically at age 17 someone can enlist in the military with parental consent, altho usually because of school they just do basic training and sometimes AIT during the summer, and then go back to finish school before they get any assignments, or at least thats how i remember it being explained to me when i was at that point 4 years ago